


I Wish I Hated You, But I Can't

by 3jelly_beanss



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - High School, Cuddling, Dating, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Headcanon, Holding Hands, Kissing, Making Out, Modern AU, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Skipping Class, and there was only one bed, bad girl mai, emo mai, goth mai, i just want to write a bunch of different versions of this ship, mai lee - Freeform, new girl ty lee, nothing explicit just slightly nsfw, popular girl ty lee, sleepover, some different aus, this is just going to be a bunch of mai lee headcanons lol, very little of that though mostly fluff and cuddling and kissing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25643290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3jelly_beanss/pseuds/3jelly_beanss
Summary: A conglomeration of mai lee headcanons! Feel free to leave some prompts or suggestions in the comments!Most chapters will be separate stories.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mai and Ty Lee have been best friends since second grade, but they've been growing apart recently. Fortunately, Ty Lee has an idea: a sleepover!   
> Basically: High School AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry its so long lol the others will probably be a bit shorter!! Enjoy!!!

That day at school, everything had been perfectly normal. Mai had gotten there about thirty minutes early. She had to, as her dad was the vice principal. 

The car ride had been awkward and annoying, as usual. Mai preferred silence to pretty much everything. So, a car ride with her noisy baby brother and overbearing, overly talkative father was less than desirable. She had put in earbuds as soon as they left and started listening to Bratmobile. They were this really screechy, aggressive girl punk band. She thought they were so fucking awesome. 

"So what classes do you have today?" Her dad yelled at her in the car with a bright smile. He was always yelling, even if they were right next to each other, but he didn't seem to notice. So annoying... Mai took out an ear bud to respond.

"All of them. Like normal."

"Oh." He paused and focused on driving for a second. Her little brother started cooing and babbling, as one-year-olds do. She scowled and put her earbuds back in.

"How's that art class coming? Do you like it?"

She pursed her lips and yanked an earbud out. "Yeah, I guess. It's fun. I don't know." This happened ten more times before they reached the school.

Mai sat in the cafeteria with Azula. There was still twenty minutes before everyone else would show up. Azula had her chin in her hand and she stared at the wall like she was trying to intimidate it. If it was possible to intimidate a wall, Azula would be the one able to do it. Most people were scared of her, at least to her face. Behind her back, they talked about how pathetic she was. The teacher's pet. The goody-two-shoes. Daddy's little princess. Her father was the principal, and one of the scariest motherfuckers Mai had ever seen. She had never heard of a kid that went into his office without coming out sobbing. Fortunately, she didn't get into much trouble. Neither did Azula. The girl would do anything to keep her precious Daddy impressed with her.

"Aren't you tired of being nice?" Azula asked the girl next to her, brown eyes looking almost ablaze. Mai didn't respond, but she wanted to point out that she wasn't fucking nice. Who would call her nice? 

"Don't you just want to go apeshit?" Azula flashed her a toothy grin that looked more like an animal baring its teeth. Wow. Mai had known her for years, and she knew she didn't have lots of social skills, but this was downright sad.

"Did you get that from a tumblr post?" Mai drawled, keeping her face unimpressed and unamused. It was easy. She didn't really show emotion.

"Maybe." It was almost as if Azula could see Mai laughing at her behind her eyes, because she snapped, "Shut the fuck up, robot Mai."

Robot Mai had been Azula's nickname for her that she had used since the seventh grade. She had always had a mean streak, but middle school really brought out the bully in her. Now they were both sophomores, and Mai was done with Azula treating her like shit. Now she just ignored her. Frequently.

Azula stopped talking to her, scrolling through something on her phone. Soon, the parts of the day Mai enjoyed would come. She waited as 8:00 ticked slowly closer, listening to the scratchy, sultry voices screaming through her earbuds.

A familiar backpack appeared on the table next to Mai, and her eyes flicked up. The faded white bag had varying shades of pink polka dots all over it. A feeling of relief spread through Mai and the corners of her thin-lipped mouth turned up just a bit.

"Azula!" A high-pitched voice cried. "I love your hair today! What in the world did you put in it?"

Mai thought it looked the same as always, her perfect silky black hair pulled into a bun on the top of her head. Two perfectly even strands lay on either side of her face. Not a hair was out of place, as usual.

Azula replied with her usual snark. "Um, conditioner? Do you not fucking condition your hair, Ty Lee?"

The girl giggled in response. "Oh, duh, that was stupid of me. Yoohoo, Mai..." Ty Lee said in a singsong voice, plopping herself down on the chair next to Mai, who pretended she wasn't paying attention. Mai turned around to see her best friend in the whole world, sitting with both of her hands propping her chin up. She had big brown eyes with long eyelashes, round apple-y cheeks with a natural blush, and the most oblivious and pure goofy smile. Her long, soft brown hair was pulled back into a braid. Mai was thankful she knew how to regulate her emotions, because in her head she was, well, going apeshit about how beautiful this girl was.

"Oh. Hi." She said, finally. Ty Lee grinned widely and they started talking about homework.

The day passed quickly. Mai didn't really remember the parts of the day where she was alone. She pretty much had one friend, Ty Lee, and one enemy that she sometimes talked to, Azula. So, in the classes where she didn't have either of them, she either zoned out or barely paid attention. She doodled in her notebooks a lot. She wanted to be some sort of an artist when she grew up, as she had always had an affinity and passion for art. However, her father wanted her to be someone powerful that made a ton of money. Whatever. As soon as she moved out, she didn't want to see her parents for like ten years.

Before Mai knew it, she was on her way to one of her last periods of the day, History. It was one of her favorite parts of the day. She walked into class and nodded blankly at Mr. Kuzon before sitting at her desk. Ty Lee arrived soon afterwards, out of breath and almost late.

"Sorry, Mr. Kuzon! I was in gym and, um, Miss Julie kept me late." Kuzon nodded and Ty Lee made her way to sit next to Mai, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Hiya, Mai. Sorry I kept you waiting."

"Whatever." Mai said, brushing her thin black hair of her face. She wanted Ty Lee to keep smiling at her like that forever. Unfortunately, the girl turned to the board as Kuzon started teaching.

Kuzon was kind of a wierdo. He believed and taught all kinds of conspiracy theories about controlling governments, aliens, shapeshifters, and other similarly crazy shit. Mai enjoyed the break from reality and harsh truths, but he did take it kind of far. He had made up some sort of story where his best friend growing up, some kid named Aang, was abducted by aliens when they were twelve and like, turned into an alien or some shit. Mai was surprised he still had a job, especially under Principal Ozai's dumbass rule.

At the end of class, the day took an unexpected nose dive. Mai still wasn't sure if it was good or bad, but it made her stomach erupt with butterflies.

"Hey, Mai, did you want to come over after school? We could watch a movie or something. Maybe we could work on homework?" Ty Lee giggled nervously. "I don't know! We should do whatever you want. Maybe you could stay the night?"

Mai hoped she wasn't blushing. She prayed to a god she didn't believe in (all of them) that she wasn't blushing. She could feel her stomach flipflopping. They hadn't had a sleepover since, like, eighth grade. The last time they had a sleepover, Mai didn't know she was bisexual, and she sure as hell didn't know about the slight crush she had on Ty Lee. But, right now, she wanted nothing more than to just be in the bubbly girl's presence. She wasn't creepy. They were just friends, so nothing would happen, and Mai wouldn't do anything. She pushed her worries down.

"Sounds cool. Let me call my dad." Mai and Ty Lee walked to the cafeteria together, Ty Lee blabbering on about her day, Mai listening and enjoying it. Then, she broke off into the bathroom to call her dad. First, she had to calm herself down. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and took a deep, albeit shaky breath. She started drafting the text.

"hey dad ty lee and i r going to study after school @ her house. can i stay the night?" Perfect. Unenthusiastic, but not rude, and she made it about school so she'd seem responsible. She pressed send and found Ty Lee fiddling with the ends of her hair outside of the bathroom, waiting for her. It was a surprise.

"Oh, hi again! Sorry, I hope I'm not being creepy, but I just wanted to walk together to homeroom!" Ty Lee laughed lightly. Why did she wait? Did she seem nervous? Mai figured the girl was just thrown off by her own anxious vibes.

"It's fine. What do you want to study again?"

Ty Lee's expression brightened and she chattered as she walked to homeroom with Mai by her side. "I was thinking because we've got our English test coming up, and then I totally forgot to pay attention during Math today, so..." She talked the whole way, and Mai was perfectly happy to listen silently, a small smile forming on her lips.

-

Ty Lee couldn't believe she had done it. Finally. Finally! She had wanted to ask if Mai could have a sleepover for the past year. They had hung out plenty, sure, but usually with Azula, who, although cruel and rude, Ty Lee couldn't bring herself to separate from. She felt kind of bad for her, what with all the pressure but on her by her father and all the suffering and struggling she went through every year trying to be the perfect daughter. 

But she and Mai had always had a different relationship. Ty Lee was so comfortable around her. Mai was the perfect complement to her bubbly chatter with her own acknowledging silence. She didn't mean that she just constantly talked Mai's ear off. The girl seemed happy listening to her stupid babbling, and Ty Lee loved to talk. She also loved when Mai interjected to make a joke or offer some sort of simple advice or support. It was so... refreshing. She didn't get ignored or told she was an idiot when she was with Mai.

It wasn't like Mai was Ty Lee's only friend, but she was definitely her closest. It had always been easy for Ty Lee to make friends. She was pretty and she liked to talk. She liked makeup and pop music and sports, especially things like cheer and gymnastics. She quickly turned into one of the popular girls or at the very least their friend. She was mainstream. She was typical. Mai made her feel like something more than that, like maybe she was smart or important or worthwhile. She made Ty Lee smile. And she made her blush.

How could she not, with that shiny black hair, those thin, piercing dark eyes, her narrow face, her thin pink lips and the way she only barely smiled if at all. Ty Lee loved making that little smirk appear on her face. 

Finally, the bell rang. Ty Lee sprang up and swung her polka-dotted backpack onto her shoulder with ease, skipping off to find Mai. She bounded out of the door just as a girl stepped in front of the door. She stuck her arms out and they collided, Ty Lee's momentum pushing her towards the ground. With her gymnastics knowledge and quick reflexes, she was able to wrap her arm around the girl before she fell and regain her own balance. They ended up so close, Ty Lee's face inches from wide, dark eyes. Mai's eyes. A deep red blush colored both of the girls' cheeks. Ty Lee realized she should probably stop standing like this, like a tango frozen in time. She lifted Mai safely to her feet.

"Sorry, wow! That was a close one!" She started talking, her usual defense mechanism. "I am really such a clutz. Well, are you ready to go? Need to get anything? You're okay, right? Did your dad text back?"

"Um, I'm fine. He did. Let's go." Mai answered simply. Ty Lee really hoped she wasn't angry. She hadn't meant to get that close. Not that she didn't want to, but... she had plans for tonight, not right now. Not in front of thousands of possibly homophobic or judgy high schoolers.

Ty Lee's dad pulled up in an old, worn-out van. There were stains on the floor from when Ty Lee and her friends had spilled juice as kids. She smiled at the memory. Mai slid into the backseat next to Ty Lee and looked nervously at her dad. Ty Lee grinned at him in the rearview mirror.

"Hi Dad!"

"What's up, girls? How was school?"

"Good." Mai said, deadpan. "Normal!" Ty Lee said. Her dad was pretty normal. He was super overprotective, but what do you expect when his daughter is a beautiful young girl and an only child. She grew up sort of needing the protection. Now she sometimes found it annoying, but she didn't tell him that. He was sweet and thoughtful, so it didn't really matter, she loved him. 

-

Mai had last been in Ty Lee's house a month ago for a study session with Azula. It had been pretty terrible, with Azula complaining a lot and barely letting the other girls talk. Now, it was just Mai and Ty Lee. And her dad, of course, but they had learned in the car he had to meet some people he worked with outside of office hours, and so they'd be left at home for a few hours alone. So he dropped them off into the empty house and promptly left.

Mai stayed silent, feeling awkward in the empty, echoey house. Ty Lee shrugged off her backpack and flopped onto the big, velvety couch with its many decorative pillows. Mai snorted softly at the sight of Ty Lee buried in pillows. The girl on the couch yelled a muffled "hey!"

"Hm?" Mai said, putting on a blank, innocent face. Ty Lee fought to sit up and looked up at her friend with a comical pout on her face.

"Are you laughing at me?"

Mai could feel her composure slipping, her eyes scrunching up and the corners of her mouth tilting up. She let herself burst into laughter finally. She couldn't help herself, but she tried to explain through wheezing laughs. "I- I'm sorry, you just looked so cute!"

Ty Lee gasped. Mai froze, and a chill ran up her spine.

"I- I mean, like, dumb. You looked funny." Mai tried to cover up what had slipped out of her mouth. She may have been thinking it, but that didn't mean she should say it. She almost never said what she was thinking, preferring to say nothing at all.

Ty Lee had a wide grin plastered on her face, the round cheeks she was so self-conscious about covered in a pink blush. "Nah, you can't take it back now, Mai... You think I'm cute, don't you."

"Yeah, stupid cute." Mai tried to retort. Ty Lee burst into giggles and Mai's face heated up. "Wait, I-"

"Anyways, do you want something to drink? I've got to be a good hostess, of course." Ty Lee interrupted her. She got up from the couch and stretched, almost bending in half backwards. The hem of her pink tank top slipped up, revealing the soft, tan skin of her stomach. Mai realized and looked down at the ground quickly. Did this girl not know what she was doing to her?

"Um, do you have lemonade?" Mai remembered the many summers with her, Ty Lee, and Azula, sitting in Ty Lee's backyard with cups of lemonade and skinned knees, getting bit by a million mosquitoes and not caring. Ty Lee nodded and cartwheeled into the kitchen. No joke. She decided to cartwheel, which came as a surprise to Mai, who had to lean back so she didn't get kicked in the nose.

"Eep, sorry!" Ty Lee said, and started on the task of pouring them both lemonade. She chattered happily about how she was doing in gymnastics. Mai congratulated her on learning a new move. She talked about how her friends were planning on skipping school next Friday and how she thought it was a really stupid idea. For someone so laid back and popular, she followed a surprising number of rules. She blabbered on about everything and nothing, and Mai stared at her with barely veiled affection on her face. She was listening, sure, but she was also watching how Ty Lee's muscular arms and thin fingers made such perfect, graceful movements. She was watching Ty Lee's glossy, pink lips and the way she smiled in the middle of talking. She was watching her long, fluttering eyelashes and her perfect, red cheeks and her big, brown eyes that sparkled. Mai didn't notice the small smile that had crept its way onto her face and the affection that had crept its way into her heart.

"-like that's so ridiculous, right? I mean, Azula cannot be team captain of the cheer team. For one, no one on the team likes her because she's super mean to all of them, and secondly, she's not the best cheerleader! I'm not trying to be rude, but they have to realize these things, right? You don't think they'll seriously suck up to her stupid dad?"

"Mm-hm," Mai muttered dreamily.

"What?" Ty Lee narrowed her eyes. "Mai, are you listening?"

Shit. Mai's eyes widened. "I- sorry, Azula's a bad cheerleader, right? That's what you were talking about?"

"I.. sort of." Ty Lee melted at Mai's response, a fond smile spreading across her face. "Well, whatever, let's get comfy, babe. Want to watch something?"

Mai froze, processing the fact that Ty Lee had called her BABE. She tried to keep her face blank. It's nothing! Friends call each other babe! No problem! Whatever! "Um," Fuck. Her voice wavered nervously. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

She took a cup from Ty Lee's outstretched hand and was secretly delighted to learn it was filled with pink lemonade. Of course it was. Pink was Ty Lee's favorite color. She made her way back to the living room and the large, brown couch. Ty Lee was sitting on it, taking her hair out of its usual long braid. The brown hair moved like silk through her fingers, unraveling slowly. It took all of Mai's strength not to whisper "wow" as she came upon the scene. She sat down next to her friend and sipped her lemonade, avoiding eye contact. 

They decided to watch Gossip Girl, which Ty Lee loved and Mai pretended she wasn't super invested in. They sat on the edge of their seats at the dramatic parts. Ty Lee even grasped Mai's arm sometimes, which Mai pretended she didn't love. They stopped watching after they finished a season finale. Ty Lee had moved so close to Mai she was almost sitting in her lap, leaning into the taller girl's side. The credits rolled and Ty Lee dropped her head into Mai's lap.

"I just- wow." She said, mimicking her head exploding. Mai laughed, her cheeks pinkening by the second. Ty Lee put a hand up to her forehead in a dramatic 'damsel in distress' pose. "Chuck and Blair are, like, so in love... Ugh, I want something like that." She looked sadly and expectantly up at Mai, who grew somber.

"Are you kidding? Ty Lee, you get a marriage proposal every other day," Mai could feel that her words sounded bitter, but she hoped Ty Lee took them as encouraging.

"Well, I- I don't want them..." She said, averting her eyes.

Mai laughed softly. "Woah, how high can your standards be?" All of a sudden, a loud, grating noise from the garage interrupted what Ty Lee had been about to respond with. Her dad was home. She sat up and rushed to the garage door to greet him, leaving Mai confused and tired on the couch. 

-

Mai sat through an awkward dinner, trying her best to smile and talk about normal things, like classes, and not weird things, like her obsession with knives. She was never good with adults, especially the parents of her friends. Not that she had more than one. But she wanted to be allowed to come over again, so she avoided knife discussions. Ty Lee's dad ordered some takeout from a little Chinese restaurant down the street. It seemed to be family-owned, and everything was really good, maybe the best Chinese food Mai had ever had. Ty Lee said it was the best she'd ever had, but Ty Lee talked in superlatives, so they couldn't be sure she was serious. 

After dinner, Ty Lee and Mai decided to go upstairs to Ty Lee's room. It was huge and cluttered. Mai hadn't been in it for like half a year, and it had changed drastically. She had obviously tried to clean up, but it still looked a bit messy, things everywhere and keepsakes cluttering shelves. Ty Lee blushed and tried to pick it up more, but only succeeded in moving things around. Mai smiled softly.

"It's fine, Ty Lee, really. My room is, like, five times worse. Never fully clean your room team?" She asked, holding up a pale hand for a high five.

"It's not just me? Thank goodness!" She slapped Mai's hand enthusiastically. "Pajama time!" She exclaimed, shutting her door. She quickly lifted her tank top over her head. Mai turned to find her friend in her jean shorts and a lacy, white bra. She practically died, tensing up and looking directly at the floor with a blush rising to her cheeks. Ty Lee didn't take any notice, walking over to her dresser and sliding her shorts off. Mai walked jerkily over to her backpack, avoiding looking at Ty Lee like the plague. She snatched her black sweatpants and the Naruto T-shirt she got from Goodwill out and stood by the door, waiting for her friend to be changed so she could go to the bathroom.

"Uhh, Mai?" Ty Lee asked.

"Yeah?" Her voice cracked and she winced.

"You can look now." Ty Lee said with a giggle. Mai turned finally to see her friend in a super baggy T-shirt and some equally big pajama pants. The short girl was dwarfed by the giant clothing and Mai couldn't help but snort at how cute and ridiculous she looked. "What?!"

"N- Nothing. I'm going to go to the bathroom for a sec."

Mai came back and found Ty Lee sitting on her huge, pink bed, scrolling through something on her phone. She perked up when she heard Mai and looked up only to erupt with laughter.

"I-" Mai tried to say, but she was interrupted by Ty Lee's high-pitched laughter. "Ty Lee!" The short girl snorted. "What is it?!" 

"It's just... you look so small! That's so big on you!" Mai's mouth fell open. Also, wasn't that what she had just been thinking about Ty Lee? Ty Lee smiled and looked back to her phone. "Don't worry, it's cute." Mai flushed pink and Ty Lee just patted the bed next to her with her hand. Mai climbed up and sat next to her, pretending to ignore her.

"Mai? Mai, look, it's a meme! Maiiiii..." Ty Lee whined, and Mai's facade was broken by the smile she couldn't stop. "How rude of you. It was a meme about vampires, you kno-"

"What? Can I see?"

"No, not anymore!" Ty Lee said, holding her phone out of Mai's grasp and sticking out her tongue.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, both on their phones, occasionally showing each other memes they thought the other person would find funny. Eventually Ty Lee huffed and plopped her phone down on the bed next to her. 

"Well, what do you want to do?" Mai shrugged in response to this question. "Well, that's super unhelpful. You know what? Let's play Truth or Dare."Mai turned to give Ty Lee a funny look, and she found the girl had a nefarious smile on her face.

"Oh my God, what do you have planned for me?! I'm kind of scared, Ty Lee."

"Ahh, no! I don't have anything planned! It's just a stupid game." She paused, thinking. "You know what, I'll give you one opt out, okay? We'll each get one."

Mai considered this with pursed lips. "...Fine, I'll play. Who's first?"

"Meee, of course." Ty Lee said with a wide smile that made Mai laugh. They both turned towards the other and sat crosslegged, eyes locked. "Okay, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"Who do you like?"

Mai thought for a while about what too say. She knew the answer. It was easy. She looked solemnly at the girl in front of her, long brown locks spilling about her shoulders, big brown eyes pleading for her answer. Was it really worth the possible heartache to tell her? She decided it wasn't. "I opt out."

"Ughhhh, that early? Mai, you've gotta have some fun with it!"

"I've only got one opt out! I have to do all the other stuff now." She pointed out, nervousness sitting in her stomach like a brick. "Truth or Dare?"

"...Truth, I guess."

"Who do you like?"

Ty Lee exclaimed and slumped over into her own lap. A blush had spread across her cheeks. "Seriously?" Mai nodded and Ty Lee groaned. "You know what? I opt out." Mai glared and Ty Lee smirked teasingly, trying to hide her shaking hands in her lap. "Truth or Dare, Mai?"

"Truth."

"Are you only gonna say truth?" Ty Lee complained, and Mai shrugged. "Okay, well... have you ever kissed a girl?"

Mai's face turned bright red. She was stunned. Could Ty Lee tell how much she wanted to? "N-no. I've never kissed anyone, Ty Lee. I probably would've told you."

"Probably? Wow, I can tell how much I mean to you." Ty Lee teased.

"Truth or Dare, Ty Lee?"

"Truth?"

"Okay. Do you want to kiss a girl?"

Ty Lee looked down at the bed between them, wringing her hands. Of course Mai had noticed, how could she not have? "Yup." She replied, popping the P. "Truth or Dare?"

"Y'know what? I'm going to say truth." 

Ty Lee laughed, her voice audibly wavering. "Do you want to kiss a girl?"

"I can see you've stolen my strategy of copying you." This got no reaction. Mai answered softly, "Yeah... Truth or Dare?"

"...Dare."

"Kiss me, Ty Lee." Ty Lee looked up like a deer in headlights, a pink flush on her cheeks. Mai couldn't stand how cute she looked with those big, Bambi-like eyes, looking up at her through her eyelashes. "If you want to," She added, nervous at Ty Lee's shocked and frozen state. 

Ty Lee leaned forward a bit and swallowed. Mai's hand snuck over and lay on top of her shaky one. They were so close that Ty Lee could feel Mai's soft, warm breath on her nose and eyelashes. Mai's thumb rubbed the back of Ty Lee's hand, sending a thrill up her spine. She remembered that she should be doing the kissing and she turned her head, closed her eyes, and rushed up to meet the taller girl's lips. They collided awkwardly before quickly learning what they should be doing. Mai's soft lips brushed gently against Ty Lee's. She pushed her lips into Mai's, greedy for more of this warm, ecstatic feeling. Mai shocked her by putting a soft, cold hand on the girl's cheek. Mai pulled back slowly, and Ty Lee followed her, placing tiny pecks on her lips until she found Mai was smiling against her kiss. Ty Lee pulled back to find Mai shaking with light laughter. She almost thought the girl was sobbing at first with the way her shoulders shook.

"W-What is it?" She asked Mai breathlessly.

"I just..." She let out a shaky sigh and Ty Lee picked up Mai's hand and held it in her own. "I've wanted to do that for a long time." She whispered.

"Uhm... me too." Ty Lee whispered back. Mai looked so smitten, so... affected. It was unfamiliar, it was astounding, and it was because of Ty Lee. She couldn't believe it. 

"I guess Truth or Dare is over...?" Mai said, and they both burst into raucous laughter, Ty Lee giggling as Mai pulled her into her arms. 

"You want to watch a movie?" Ty Lee asked against Mai's shoulder. She didn't particularly want to move from where she was, held in the warmth of Mai's arms, but she really wanted to watch something. Mai nodded and teased Ty Lee for having a TV in her bedroom like a rich girl. Ty Lee combated this by saying Mai was rich, too, which the girl couldn't deny. They debated which movie to watch for a while before deciding on a movie called The Half Of It.

"Really? We've just come out to each other and you want to watch a gay coming-of-age movie?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, duh, it fits, Mai!" Ty Lee retorted, and Mai couldn't argue with that. She sat against the headboard of Ty Lee's bed and her fingers started to play with the two buns on top of her head.

"Ow!" Ty Lee looked over to see Mai's fingers tangled in what had become two messy things that looked like sea urchins on top of her head.

She giggled. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to take out my hair, but I can't fucking see-" She growled with rage and extracted her fingers, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Can I try?" Ty Lee asked softly. Mai nodded and turned her back to the other girl. Ty Lee found that Mai's hair was surprisingly thick, but it was unbelievably silky and smooth, despite the tangles. She mad quick work of the knots and managed to get the two rubber bands stuck in Mai's hair out. Mai found that the feeling of Ty Lee's breath on her neck and fingers running through her hair made her blush and feel weak at the knees, even though she was sitting. Even after Ty Lee had undone the buns, she played gently with Mai's long black hair. Mai leaned back into the girl's touch.

"Mm." Mai hummed softly, a smile plastered across her sleepy face. Ty Lee's hands fell out of her hair and Mai's face fell, but then the girl's strong arms wrapped around Mai's waist.

"What was that?" Ty Lee whispered into her ear.

"Umm... Thank you?" Mai stumbled over her words, her face flushed. Ty Lee definitely knew what she was doing to her. "Start the movie already!" Ty Lee giggled and complied, letting Mai go.

-

Mai and Ty Lee held hands for the whole movie, and they grew steadily closer as it went on. Towards the end, it got really sad and anxiety-inducing, and Ty Lee buried her face in Mai's chest. Mai did not mind this, wrapping an arm around the small girl. The movie ended, and both girls were weary from the crazy day. They fell asleep quickly, a mess of tangled limbs and long hair and warmth.


	2. Let's Skip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ty Lee, the ever-studious and rule-following, has somehow fallen in love with Mai, an actual delinquent with a penchant for breaking rules. And god, is she hot when she does it.  
> (so, basically, a different high school au uwu)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um,, i think you can really tell im simping for mai in this chapter,, can you blame me tho?  
> (also possible nsfw warning? it's just some sorta hardcore making out)

Ty Lee sifted through the many books and folders in her locker, trying to find the right ones to shove into her small backpack. She kind of regretted getting a Kanken, as they were pretty tiny, but they were so cute and trendy she hadn't been able to resist the pale pink one. She felt something lift her hair, secured in a long braid. She gasped and spun around to see a teasing smirk in her face.

Mai was... beautiful. To this day, Ty Lee was amazed the girl liked her. They were girlfriends, for goodness' sake. She had a long, narrow face. Her eyes were thin and tilted beautifully up at the corners. She always wore thick black eyeliner that Ty Lee loved as it perfectly complimented her long, silky black hair and dark irises. Her face was fox-like, long and narrow and cunning. She had thin, pink lips that were now curled in a smug grin and inches from Ty Lee's face.

"Mai! Don't scare me like that," Ty Lee said with a nervous giggle.

"Sorry, babe." Ty Lee loved her girlfriend's voice. It was raspy and deep for a girl's voice, but it was almost sultry. It made her crazy. Mai leaned back against the locker next to Ty Lee's, obviously trying to take her attention away from getting ready for the day. It was working. Ty Lee's eyes were pulled to the right.

Today Mai was wearing baggy ripped jeans. Silver chains hung from one side. Jesus, her girlfriend looked like an e-boy, Ty Lee thought, trying not to laugh. Her shirt was a tight red turtleneck tucked into the high waist of her pants.

"Have I ever told you how pretty you are?" Ty Lee asked, looking longingly into the tall girl's eyes. Mai blushed and laughed, and then she tried to cover it with her hand.

"You have," Mai muttered, "But thank you. Also, I have to say it, Uno reverse card! I have a sexy-ass girlfriend, Ty Lee." Mai said with a wink. Ty Lee turned back to her locker, flustered, and put a few more books in her bag.

"I'm ignoring you for that," She teased. "Didn't anybody ever teach you not to objectify women?"

Ty Lee looked up at the black-haired girl through her long eyelashes, which she knew Mai loved. It had the desired effect.

"I- Well, y- your personality is sexy too," The tall, thin girl stammered, and her shorter girlfriend burst into high-pitched giggles. 

A boy with shaggy black hair and a scar on his eye came by and stage-whispered to them, "Uh, could you guys pipe down the gayness? Katara and I can hear your blatant pining from over there." He pointed to a girl with tan skin and brown hair. She was doubled over laughing.

"Frick off, Zuko," Ty Lee said, sticking her tongue out at him. They were all childhood friends, so constant teasing was the norm.

"What she said!" Mai joined in, adding, "And while you're at it, go stare at Sokka! At least now you'll have an excuse..."

Zuko's jaw dropped and Ty Lee said a dramatically long "ohhhhhhhh!" He stuck his tongue out at them, cheeks flushing red.

"When do you think they'll get together?" Mai whispered into Ty Lee's ear once Zuko was out of earshot.

"Please, like, next week." Ty Lee said, a teasing smile appearing on her face. Mai laughed and slapped her knee in that corny way she did when she thought something was really funny.

Ty Lee checked the delicate gold watch on her wrist and yelped. Before Mai could ask what was wrong, the small but muscular girl was yelling at her to get going and shoving her towards her homeroom.

"C'mon, we're going to be late, Mai!" She exclaimed. The hallways were clearing out, only increasing Ty Lee's apprehension. Mai was enjoying the girl trying to shove her and she fell over into Ty Lee's arms, letting her body go almost limp. "Ugh, I will drop you if you don't get up." Mai chuckled and straightened up, turning to face her small girlfriend. She placed a small, quick kiss on Ty Lee's lips and was off with a wink. Ty Lee, surprised and flustered, darted in the other direction. Time for school.

-

The school day turned out to be one of those long ones where every minute creeps by painfully slowly. Mai sat in Algebra class, looking at the wall and not thinking about polynomials. She was thinking about something exponentially more important to her: Ty Lee. Her outfit that day had been so, so cute. She had been wearing an oversized white sweatshirt over some light pink shorts. The pale colors looked good against her tanned, olive skin. She had worn her glasses, big, round things with clear frames, that Mai was ashamed to say she found super cute. She sighed at the thought of her beautiful girlfriend.

Mai remembered she had class with Ty Lee next. It was English class, and Mai was really good at it, surprisingly. Right now, she was only passing her classes because of her girlfriend's wonderful and diligent tutoring. Except for English class, which Mai could excel at all by herself, she thought with pride. It's not like she tried super hard. She generally wasn't a big fan of trying, preferring to ignore or scoff at her problems. But whatever. She had a plan for English class. A mischievous grin spread across her face.

-

Ty Lee flashed Mai a small smile as the tall girl slouched into the seat next to her. Ty Lee had her desk perfectly organized already, pencil bag in the top corner on top of her hot pink binder, notebook open in front of her, pencil held lazily in her fingers. 

"I am so glad we have this class together," Mai murmured to the girl next to her. "Algebra is so fucking boring."

Ty Lee smacked her arm with the back of her hand. "Language!" Mai smirked, grabbed the angry girl's hand, and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. Ty Lee pulled her hand back, blushing, and teased Mai with a stern look. Then, class started.

Miss Dee, their odd, ever-cheerful teacher, started the notes slideshow. About ten minutes in, Ty Lee looked over to Mai with a smile, expecting the girl to wink or flirt back, but she found Mai with her face buried in her arms. Was she... crying? Sleeping, maybe? Was she okay? Soon after, their teacher noticed, and though her weird smile didn't leave her face, Miss Dee's brows furrowed.

"Mai? Excuse me? Should I be more exciting and enthusiastic so you don't fall asleep, hm?" Ty Lee was surprised at the barely-veiled rage in the woman's voice.

Mai picked her head up and groaned slightly, clutching at her temple. Her voice was soft and scratchy and almost slurred. "Oh, I- I'm so sorry, Miss Dee, I didn't mean to..." She trailed off and winced, holding her head. Ty Lee was starting to get worried.

"Miss Mai? Are you okay?" Miss Dee's voice had softened, and she walked closer.

"Oh, just a headache... I'm-" She winced and rubbed her temple. "I'm fine, really." She muttered weakly.

"No, no, I don't think so. Mai, I'm sending you to the nurse. Come back whenever you're ready."

"Miss Dee?" Ty Lee raised her hand, worry clear in her voice, her brows furrowed and pointing up. "Could I escort her? She- She could fall or something and-" Miss Dee nodded with a smile, and Ty Lee sighed, relieved. She got up and picked up Mai by the elbow, leading her slowly to the door. Mai had one hand on her head and one wrapped around the smaller girl. She was leaning heavily on her girlfriend for support. Ty Lee was even more worried. Mai could barely stand? They got out into the hall and Ty Lee closed the door behind them and started towards the nurse. After a few steps, Mai jumped up and pumped her fist. She was standing on her own and had ceased clutching her head. Ty Lee's face was briefly the picture of confusion before she made the easy realization. Her face fell, lips pursing and eyes glaring darkly up at her tall, rejoicing girlfriend.

"I can't believe you. All that to get out of class. You're a good actor, you delinquent." Mai looked at her, eyes sparkling, a huge grin on her face. She was so fucking proud of herself. They both burst out laughing at the same time. 

"You're ridiculous," Ty Lee said, wrapping her arm around Mai's waist.

"But you love me, right?"

"Eh." Mai gasped and Ty Lee giggled. "Anyways, let's wait a couple minutes and get you back to class."

"What?! No! I just did all that work so we could skip, and you're going to throw it away?"

"Uh, yes? I'm missing notes right now! So are you!"

"Whatever. You know Aang will let us borrow his notes, right? I get notes from him all the time."

"You're unbelievable. I can't ju-" Ty Lee's rant was interrupted by Mai's soft lips on hers. Mai pulled back and grinned at the blush spreading across the short girl's face. "You can't ju-" Mai pressed her lips to Ty Lee's again. "I-" And again. 

Mai's face was so close to Ty Lee's. She could smell the bubblegum Mai had been chewing earlier. It was intoxicating, and so was her gaze. "Do you want to make out right here or in the girl's restroom?" Mai whispered, and Ty Lee shuddered as her breath made her eyelashes flutter.

"B- bathroom."

-

Mai checked to make sure all of the stalls were empty. Then, very unceremoniously, she picked Ty Lee up in a fireman's carry. This very much surprised Ty Lee because she had been totally unaware her skinny, stick-like girlfriend was that strong. Mai put her gently down on the cold countertop. She stepped up to her girlfriend. They were at the same eye level. Wow, Mai was tall, Ty Lee thought. Mai slid easily into the gap between Ty Lee's thighs, her face inches from Ty Lee's, her fingertips gently stroking the soft skin of Ty Lee's thighs. Ty Lee felt each touch like a tiny shockwave. Her heart was racing. Mai leaned in, mouth open, only to pull back again. She did it one more time. Her fingers were still tracing patterns into Ty Lee's sensitive, muscular things.

"S- stop teasing." Ty Lee said breathily. Finally, she darted forwards and connected their lips. Her arms wrapped around Mai's small waist. They crashed into each other, Ty Lee's lips firmly stuck on Mai's. Ty Lee decided she was feeling brave, and her tongue darted out to lick her girlfriend's lips. Ty Lee could feel Mai smile while they kissed, and suddenly their mouths were open, Mai's wet tongue darting into the other girl's mouth like a dare. Ty Lee returned the favor. She relished in the sweet, smoky taste of Mai's mouth. Mai started to suck on her bottom lip and a moan slipped out of her throat. "Mm..." Mai responded, and her cold hands snuck under Ty Lee's shirt, finding soft, bare skin. Ty Lee gasped at the touch, but took the opportunity to plant kisses on and around Mai's wet mouth. She worked her way down to Mai's jawline, where she licked it like a sharp knife. Mai giggled. Ty Lee started sucking on her neck, tongue brushing over soft skin, eliciting a delightful moan from Mai. That was when she felt the hand moving underneath her bra and cupping a soft breast. She gasped and breathed raggedly as Mai ran her fingers over the soft, sensitive skin. Ty Lee brought her mouth back up to Mai's and licked her lips and then proceeded to stick her tongue in the other girl's mouth. Mai ran her hand down the soft skin of her girlfriend's torso and took it out from where it was under her shirt, bringing it up to Ty Lee's face. They shared a few more sloppy kisses before they stopped entirely, foreheads pressed together, breathing heavily. 

"Mai?" Ty Lee whispered.

"Mm?" Mai hummed back, stroking the girl's soft, flushed cheek.

"You're.. hot as fuck," She said breathlessly. Mai placed a quick kiss on the girl's forehead and they laughed together. Ty Lee, having forgotten all about class, patted the counter next to her, and Mai hopped up onto it. Ty Lee grabbed her thin, delicate hand and held it in her lap, stroking her knuckles gently.

"I say we plan our next date."

"Right now?" Mai asked.

"Why not?" Ty Lee said with a small giggle.

"Okay. So first, we ditch school. We make fake IDs and go to Petsmart..."

"I see where this is going."

"Don't be so cocky!" Mai teased, continuing, "So we pet the dogs, of course, but then we buy a shitload of cheap alcohol from that 7-11 down the street. We steal a shopping cart and we take turns pushing each other around town while absolutely wasted. Finally, we go to my house, make out a ton, then, you make your world-famous spicy mac and cheese. We have a sleepover and watch a cheesy romcom, we get more drunk, and we both cry over said stupid romcom."

"Actualy... that sounds perfect. Minus the alcohol." Ty Lee told her girlfriend.

"Awhh, babe, that's the fun part!" Mai complained. Ty Lee punched her in the shoulder and the girl just grinned like a maniac. Ty Lee couldn't resist that fox-like grin. She placed a gentle kiss on Mai's nose and hopped down off of the counter.

"Come on, let's get back to class, Miss Mai 'Ahhggghhh-My-Head.' "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes theres a fucking math pun and im actually really proud of it because i am both a nerd and a dad friend  
> i apologize if the dialogue is kinda wack, it was 1 am lol


	3. I Can See!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Set in the normal ATLA universe but after the 100 years war.)  
> Ty Lee keeps messing up her stunts and acrobatics, and Mai finally realizes what's wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one doesn't have a heck ton of mai lee but it's super cute and soft,,

The first time it happened, Mai figured Ty Lee just got distracted.

They were strolling through a little Earth Kingdom farmer's market. Well, Mai was strolling and Ty Lee was somersaulting over and over to keep up with her. Mai loved places like this, tons of tiny carts and vendors of everything under the sun and moon. A small smile appeared on her usually expressionless face, and she strolled faster to a very small cart covered in flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors. She stopped by a beautiful pink rose and leaned down to smell it when Ty Lee crashed into her from behind. 

Mai fell over to the right, but fortunately she managed to fall partly on something soft. She winced as her other side hit hard earth. Her eyes snapped open and to the left.

"Ty Lee!" Mai exclaimed and scooted off of the short girl, who sat there holding her head in her hand.

"Oww..." She said, and Mai got up and picked up Ty Lee gently by the elbow, asking if she was okay. Ty Lee nodded and grinned sheepishly. Mai then noticed a few crushed flowers on the ground and turned to see the vendor glaring at them sternly. 

Mai opened her mouth to explain or maybe apologize, but instead she turned to Ty Lee and swooped the small girl up in her arms. Then she darted off, weaving through the market-goers.

"I-I'm sorry Mai," Ty Lee tried to tell her, arms wrapped around the running girl's shoulders. "I guess I didn't know you stopped."

"It's fine," Mai said, flashing her a small smile. Ty Lee buried her face in Mai's chest, ashamed. She was always perfect! She never messed up! It had just been hard to tell where Mai was...

-

The second time it happened was more serious.

Mai stood in the small kitchen of their cabin. After the war, she had used her parents' money to build it. It was small, rustic, quaint. It was unlike any other place Mai had lived in, more used to palaces and mansions. Honestly, she preferred the cabin. She and Ty Lee filled it with flowers, dried and pressed, herbs, fruits, and anything interesting they found outside.

Mai stirred the pot in front of her, filled with a bubbling, bright red liquid. She was making raspberry jam, Ty Lee's favorite. She was humming absentmindedly when she heard a loud crash and what sounded like something breaking.

"Ow, shoot!" Mai found Ty Lee on the floor, holding her ankle in her hands, face scrunched up in pain. A vase lay on the floor, shattered. "I-I'm sorry Mai- Ow!" Mai rushed to her side, ignoring her words and hoisting her up to her feet. They quickly discovered Ty Lee couldn't put weight on her ankle, and so Mai carried her to a nearby healer.

Katara was in town. Mai thanked the spirits, as Katara was known as one of the best healers in the Water Tribes. The girl made quick work of Ty Lee's sprained ankle, the blue, glowing water soothing like nothing Ty Lee had ever felt. The brown-haired girl rested on a bed in the house Katara was staying at. The water tribe girl pulled Mai aside.

"She'll need to stay off that ankle for a couple days to make sure it heals properly, okay? Take this salve for if it starts hurting." Katara handed her a small pouch filled with an oily, green subtance.

"Thank you, Katara." Mai sighed, knowing what she had to say next was going to be difficult for someone that tried to not show their emotions. Katara started to walk away. "Wait! Thank you, but really. I'm sorry for all Azula, Ty Lee, and I did to you and your friends during the war. I... It means a lot that you have the, I don't know, the grace, the kindness, maybe, to help us when we sort of tried to kill you."

Katara smiled softly. "To be honest, I was going to hold a grudge, but... Aang convinced me not to. Having a monk for a boyfriend really mellows you out." She said with a laugh. "Thank you, Mai. For that. Aang was right."

Relief and happiness filled Mai, and she carried Ty Lee back to their house, forgetting to ask how the perfect, highly-trained girl managed to fall. When she finally did ask, Ty Lee told her she hadn't known how close the vase was. Mai didn't know what that meant.

-

Ty Lee's third strike wasn't any one thing, but rather a bunch of times the girl slipped up in odd ways she didn't used to. Finally, Mai noticed a trend. Ty Lee had started needing Mai to tell her what signs said, somehow unable to read them. She started getting clumsier, bumping into things or grabbing things only to find her hand was too far away. Mai was fed up with Ty Lee pretending nothing was wrong, so she devised a clever plan.

"Hey, Ty Lee, do you want to go shopping today? There's some new place in the village." Mai said casually over breakfast, pouring Ty Lee some tea.

The girl cried out and started giggling. "Ahh! Really? You hate shopping! Can we go, can we go?"

Mai had forgotten she told Ty Lee about that. "Well, um it sells knives too, so I thought it would be cool." She lied quickly.

"Oh, heck yeah, it will!" Ty Lee said, bouncing up and down excitedly.

-

The two women strolled through the village in the afternoon sun, arms intertwined. Mai felt kind of bad, as Ty Lee was almost bubbling over with excitement. 

"Are we close?" she asked for the third time.

"Oh. We're here." Mai said, seeing the sign for Mr. Lu's shop. She hoped Ty Lee couldn't tell that the sign was shaped like a pair of glasses.

Ty Lee squealed and started to jump up and down. She squinted comically at the sign, eliciting a sigh from Mai. "What does that say?" She asked finally, giving up.

"Mr. Lu's Optometry." She said, and Ty Lee gasped dramatically.

"No. You can't be serious. The- The utter betrayal-!" Ty Lee's face had fallen and she crossed her arms over her chest in a pout.

"Ugh, come on. You haven't noticed that you squint at everything now? You get headaches every other night from it."

"I don't need glasses-" Mai ignored whatever she had been about to say, dragging her by the arm into the store. 

Ty Lee sat through the tests with her arms crossed and a pouty expression on her face. Whenever she could, she turned to glare at Mai unamusedly. The face she made, though, made Mai almost burst out laughing every time. After waiting in silence for about an hour, Mr. Lu came out with the glasses. They were big and round with a thin strip of gold-colored wire on the edges. Ty Lee gasped when she saw them. They actually... didn't look that bad.

"Try those out, my dear," The little old man said.

Ty Lee slipped them on and gawked at everything around her. She was speechless. She turned to Mai, and the breath was knocked out of her chest.

"What? Do they work?"

"I can see!" She squealed and jumped up, wrapping her arms around Mai. Mai hugged her back, not even pretending as she usually did that she hated hugs. Ty Lee pulled back, her hands on Mai's shoulders. Mai couldn't help but think about how cute Ty Lee looked with the big, round glasses.

"Mai," Ty Lee said, her face serious. "You are so, like, bananas beautiful. Why didn't you tell me?! I can't believe it! I've been living with you for, like, six months, unable to see your pretty face?!" Mai burst into laughter, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

Every day after that, Ty Lee made sure to tell Mai how beautiful she was. Every day without fail, Mai got a compliment, stunning her into giggles, her cheeks turning pink. Ty Lee also gasped at everything from the grass to Mai's dresses to the moon to the many flowers around their cabin. She had never seen them in this much definition. Her acrobatics and stunts were perfect and immaculate again, though her glasses kept falling off in the middle. Then, Mai devised an elastic strap for gymnastics that would keep them on the girl's face, and it worked perfectly. Everything was different, and yet everything was the same, and Mai and Ty Lee loved it.


End file.
